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17 March 2011

best. cat. toy. EVAR. [youtube] →[More:]
Not my cat(s) but we have a hexbug nano; that exact model/colour in fact. Marlowe has grown so attached to it that when he wants to play, he grabs it from wherever we've stashed it and bring it to us so we'll turn it on for him to play with. It's an amazingly simple, agile and durable toy, the batteries last quite a while, and it will even flip itself over if it lands on its back.

the only downside is that it's so small and quiet that we have to keep an eye on where it goes so that it doesn't end up stuck way back under the futon or hidden in a pile of laundry somewhere.

We will have to shoot video of Marlowe playing with our hexbug. In the meantime, here are a couple of quick live-action Marlowe vids for you. They're not the best ever, but they show the, um, rather inventive redecoration of our living room that the mister has done to entertain our fuzzball :)

Marlowe plays soccer

Marlowe loves packing paper

Marlowe has the kitty crazies!

post by: lonefrontranger at: 15:18 | 9 comments

I have been thinking of ways to make our kitchen "bug-proof" in the sense of not losing the bug. I would have to watch my cats with that one though, because I give it 15 minutes before one of them decides that it is safe enough to try biting it.

posted by Ardiril 17 March | 16:58

That thing wouldn't last 30 seconds in my house.

I'm still dealing with clothing moth larvae (but not adults, so at least I'm winning, I think). I'll find a couple of them a night on the wall. Whereupon I yell, "Zuzu, here's a bug!" and Zuzu comes running into the room. I point the bug out to her, and she stands up to lick it off the wall.

Good little Zuzu.

posted by mudpuppie 17 March | 17:30

it would have to be a pretty destructive cat to be able to damage the thing. a hexbug nano is a pretty durable little assembly. It's basically just a sturdy little plastic box containing a vibrator motor and a small switch, sat inside a molded silicon rubber frame with legs. There are no external moving parts. And it's too big for a cat to try to swallow (I'd probably keep it away from a dog, tho).

You can also buy little racetracks and mazes from the manufacturer for your hexbug, or just be creative and hack together your own!

posted by lonefrontranger 17 March | 17:34

ok, thx, lfr

posted by Ardiril 17 March | 18:09

Our cats are good hunters and they go nuts when I get out the laser pointer. I'm sure they'd love a hexbug. I wonder if I can find one locally.

posted by deborah 17 March | 19:58

I found one place (in Canada) online and you can get a habitat and two bugs for $26.52 CDN or one bug for $10.19 CDN. I'd rather find a bricks 'n' mortar store tho'. *sigh* I'll go back to searching.

posted by deborah 17 March | 20:10

LOL! That thing would definitely have to be stored at night or our cats would be at it for hours!

posted by chewatadistance 18 March | 07:20

deborah: my local Radio Shack has hexbugs on the counter. Perhaps The Source has them?

posted by workerant 18 March | 11:15

I don't know about your local area, and I really know jack about Canada, but I got our hexbug from one of those geeky toy stores; you know, the sort that have all the Discovery Channel themed merchandise, plus science / astronomy toys, metal ring puzzles, plastic lizards, geodes, box kites, and suchlike.

Ours is a locally owned sole proprietor but it's on the Pearl St. Mall (aka Wealthy Yuppie and Touristville). That said, the hexbug I bought retail there didn't cost any more than they're selling them for on Amazon.com.

good luck!

posted by lonefrontranger 18 March | 15:31

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